Topic: Xenoblade Chronicles 2

@dustinb12

An option for Torna appears on the main menu for the main game if you downloaded it digitally.
It runs independently. You don't need have completed XC2 or anything.

I know the combat mechanics in the game but I'm really confused on how to do blade combos. I can do blade specials fine but how do you combine them together to do combos.

@Dezzy thanks. I got both games physical for Christmas, never bothered to open Torna until yesterday, where i found the download code. My fault. I went ahead with Torna, maybe ill come back to do some side quests.

@Fujin 200 hours and i never really understood that. There are a few short Youtube vids that explain it.

So you don't have to do blade combos in the game. You can just use specials and be ok

@Fujin

You need blade combos to beat the tougher bosses really. They combine with chain attacks to be devastating. Otherwise you're gonna do a lot of grinding.

You just have to do the special attacks based on the elements suggested in the tree that pops up in the top right corner, where each proceeding attack has to be a high level than the previous. So if you look at this example below. Level 1 was a fire special, which started the chain off. Then you need a Level 2 fire or water to continue it. Then if you went with fire Level2, you need either fire or light Level 3. And if you went with water level 2, you need fire or ice Level3.

The real benefit is that completing the combo adds an elemental orb onto the enemy, which can you used to extent Chain Attacks to make them super deadly.

It can be alot to learn, that's for sure. Thankfully I came to the game off of Final Fantasy XIV, which also has a bunch of gameplay elements to keep track of, so I got on okay. I would definitely recommend fully learning the Blade combo system, though. Once you start being able to chain up elemental orbs, the game becomes super satisfying, and stronger enemies start seeming like less of a threat

Do you have to have specific blades in battle to do different blade combos that correspond with each element?

Well, specific in the sense that you need a blade that corresponds with the element, but not any one specific blade. if you see in the bottom left of Dezzy's screenshot, each blade has an element icon next to it's name, so to accomplish a combo, you need to match what's on the upper right with the current blade you're using.So, for example, in Dezzy's screenshot, he just did a level 1 special with a fire blade, so now he can choose whether to do a level 2 special with Pyra (or another fire blade), or a level 2 special with a water blade, like Dromarch on Nia.

@Fujin

Not specific blades, just different elements. Your 3 blades should always have 3 different elements (so should your teammates blades), so that it opens up the maximum number of possible blade combos.

It automatically handles your teammates for you though. So if the the left or right trigger attacks come up, corresponding to your 2 other party members, it means they have a Special available at the right level for the combo.
So the only thing you need to make sure of is that your own specials are the correct level for a combo. So if you need fire at Level 3, activating fire at Level 1 will just cancel the combo. (but not in the other direction, a Level 3 fire can count as Level 2 or Level 1)

I only see the blades left trigger special come up and the right trigger doesn't.

@Fujin I think the easiest way to help you out with your questions is to find out where you are in the game (e.g. chapter number). The game introduces mechanics as the story progresses so some of the stuff @Dezzy is talking about may be unavailable to you.

@Fujin

Do you have 3 party members?

@Fujin no, i went the whole game not understanding, or taking the time to, and i did many many combos. Just got lucky. Thanks to this explanation and the one given in Torna dlc, i really get it. It's easier to pull off on a difficult fight that takes awhile. Thanks everyone for the help!

@Dezzy at the moment no.

@Grumblevolcano I'm in chapter 3 at the moment. I pretty much know the combat system but the explanation of blade combos did not help too much during the tutorials in the game. Though I actually did a blade combo yesterday by accident lol. With all this confusion I'm starting to figure things out by practicing in long battles and using your advice posted on here. Chain combos look easy to pull off since you just need to max your party gauge and press the plus button on the joycons.

Whats the point of having so many different blades in the game. I get common core crystals so much to the point of wondering what's the point of them. How do they help you if there's like a million out there. When should I even awaken them including rare core crystals

Well that's why then. The left and right trigger are for your other 2 party members. You're usually gonna need all 3 to do a blade combo. It's possible with just 2 party members, but a lot harder.

How do i disengage common blades from other party members?

@Fujin

Blades are fixed onto the character who bonded with them, until very late in the game.

You can swap them for other blades with that same character though. It's one of the options in the character screen on the menu.

Do rarer common blade have better stats, and should I release the ones that are weaker?